Strangled At the Stake

One of the world's most familiar Bible translations was made and printed by by the English religious scholar and reformer William Tyndale in the first half of the 16th century. His versions of the Old and New Testaments were largely taken over by the Authorised Version - also known as the King James Bible - which was first published in 1611 and is still in use today. Tyndale wrote in ordinary, everyday English - language, he said, that every ploughboy would be able to understand. But his efforts outraged the orthodox churchmen of his day. They felt that Tyndale was usurping the Church's role as guardian and sole interpreter of the Scriptures. Only scholars could read the Latin and Greek translations then in existence; and almost all scholars were priests. To escape persecution, Tyndale was forced, in 1524, to flee to the Continent. The following year his New Testament translation was published in Germany and copies of it were smuggled into England - much to the annoyance of Henry VIII, who accused Tyndale, a Protestant, of spreading sedition. Tyndale later moved to Holland, where he published English versions of parts of the Old Testament and revised versions of the New Testament. But in 1535 he was arrested by the authorities in Antwerp and accused of heresy. He was taken to state prison for the Low Countries at Vilvorde and brought to trial the following year. After being found ‘guilty’, he was strangled at the stake and his body burnt. To the end, his greatest regret was that his work had been banned in his homeland. And his last words were: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”